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Poster:	srtg83	Date:	July 09, 2010 06:13:26am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: 7/7/2010 Furthur @ Ottawa Blues Festival

I was in Ottawa as well, drove up from Toronto on a whim and got back by 7 in the morning on Thursday. The scene was extremely relaxed with lots of room to dance and if you kept an eye out for the red shirts coming in from the back you could also puff-away undisturbed. The blues festival is sponsored by Mill Street Brewery one of the best kraft breweries in Ontario, needless to say the Tankhouse et. al. went down real nice in the heat. I had my Lesh shirt on, the one with the Miller logo on the front - A Fine Bass Player - and Bass Great, Lesh Philling on the back)

As to the show, it was a mixed bag, John was not high enough in the mix and generally the band was not loud enough(I tried to move around to find the sweet spot but no dice)so the lift was led by Weir which I think now is by design. Phil was simply amazing and his bass line in the Caution was easily the highlight of the show. He also stayed away from the mike...thank you Phil. The rest was enjoyable nothing over the top, some new arrangements to breathe life into the same songs and Weir was surprisingly competent both vocally and instrumentally. Rumors were heard that Bob was hassled at the border for some priors, hence the I Fought The Law, so I would imagine that this may have been the last visit to Canada just as I was hoping for a show in Montreal at the jazz festival next year.

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Poster:	deadpolitics	Date:	July 09, 2010 07:08:20am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: 7/7/2010 Furthur @ Ottawa Blues Festival

I took a Greyhound from Montreal for the show and was back home by 430 AM! It was a long long travel day but our efforts were highly rewarded, wouldn't you say?

I was right in front of John and I could hear him fine the whole time. I was a little too close to get much direct sound from the PA tower on the side of the stage so my mix was different. I actually thought Weirs guitar was pretty low in the mix from where I was standing and I couldn't hear his vocals on Caution at all! Phil on the other hand was an unstoppable force and his presence on bass was always felt. Just as last time I saw them, he appeared to be having the most fun out of the whole band, grinning widely the whole time and really getting off on the music. He was doing a lot of directing/conducting through the on stage monitor system, cracking himself up and exchanging glances with Chimenti reminiscent of Jerry and Brent. I can't put in words how much I was impressed by his mastery and energy.

The scene was very mellow, though there were some drunk people who wandered up to the front and were being kind of annoying. Oh well, nothing could put a damper on my mood! By I Fought The Law, I was finally surround by people dancing as crazy as I was and we shared many high fives, dabs, and hugs. This was my 3rd show and I finally "got it" in relation to the scene. Probably because I came by myself and never felt alone the whole entire night. Big thanks to you and all the kind people who we shared the experience!

Only had one encounter with security and it was timed so perfectly. Everyone around me was passing joints, etc. and these 2 big guys come and start asking for the joints and just putting them out on the ground. Right after they busted the first person in my area, the band sang "HELP ON THE WAY... I love what I love and I want it that way". Before the end of the song, security was gone and the joints were back in full force - we had it our way and loved it!

Song selection was near perfection, IMHO. All were firsts for me except Dire Wolf, Casey Jones, Help, Caution, New Speedway.

I just have to mention that Wharf Rat was very powerfully delivered by John. It was majestic and transcendent yet grounding at the very same time. I could keep going but I'll just stop here: this was a truly life changing experience. Thank you to all who made it happen.

p.s. During Touch of Gray, I felt as if Jerry was singing to his former bandmates during "Oh well a Touch of Gray kind of suits you anyway, that was all I had to say and it's alright!". Kind of like, I was never meant to grow so old but you guys look and feel good - it's just right, don't worry and keep singing these songs.